"I can sense right now a rebellion brewing amongst these United States," Jindal said, "where people are ready for a hostile takeover of Washington, D.C., to preserve the American Dream for our children and grandchildren."
Jindal went on about how the Left isn't tolerant to Christian conservatives.
"I am tired of the left. They say they're for tolerance, they say they respect diversity. The reality is this: They respect everybody unless you happen to disagree with them," he said. "The left is trying to silence us and I'm tired of it, I won't take it anymore."
You know what is not tolerant? Jindal openly urging violence against the federal government. We live in a democracy. Jindal is saying that if Christian Right doesn't get what they want then they will wage war against the government. This is shockingly offensive rhetoric from someone contemplating running for President. Would Bobby Jindal approve of citizens taking up arms against Bobby Jindal's government? I think he would likely be hiding underneath his desk.
Jindal is the negotiator urging the kidnapper to shoot the hostage. Statements like this should disqualify Jindal from serving in public office. There is a word for people whoadvocate war against the United States government. Terrorist.
"Many losing candidates became elder statesmen of their parties. What lessons will Romney have to teach his party? The art of crawling uselessly? How to contemn 47 percent of Americans less privileged and beautiful than his family? How to repudiate the past while damaging the future? It is said that he will write a book. Really? Does he want to relive a five-year-long experience of degradation? What can be worse than to sell your soul and find it not valuable enough to get anything for it? His friends can only hope he is too morally obtuse to realize that crushing truth. Losing elections is one thing. But the greater loss, the real loss, is the loss of honor."
Garry Wills, on Mitt Romney.
Romney had only one true constituency and that was his rich donors. In a conference call to his donors, Romney left no doubt that he believed his infamous 47 percent remark.
Romney argued that Obama’s healthcare plan’s promise of coverage “in perpetuity” was “highly motivational” to those voters making $25,000 to $35,000 who might not have been covered, as well as to African American and Hispanic voters. Pivoting to immigration, Romney said the Obama campaign’s efforts to paint him as “anti-immigrant” had been effective and that the administration’s promise to offer what he called “amnesty” to the children of illegal immigrants had helped turn out Hispanic voters in record numbers.
“The president’s campaign,” he said, “focused on giving targeted groups a big gift — so he made a big effort on small things. Those small things, by the way, add up to trillions of dollars.”
Giving tax cuts to people like himself is not a gift. For someone who refused to say how much his tax plan would add to the deficit; I find it hilarious that positions once held by Republicans on immigration and health care are freebees.
More on Romney's conference call.
“With regards to the young people, for instance, a forgiveness of college loan interest, was a big gift,” he said. “Free contraceptives were very big with young college-aged women. And then, finally, Obamacare also made a difference for them, because as you know, anybody now 26 years of age and younger was now going to be part of their parents’ plan, and that was a big gift to young people. They turned out in large numbers, a larger share in this election even than in 2008.”
Women have to pay for their birth control through their health coverage. Students have to repay their student loans. What Obama did was add birth control to the Affordable Care Act and stood against Republican attempts to increase student loan fees. Romney views these groups with disdain.
Update: Republican strategist Ana Navarro goes off on Mitt Romney.
Mr. Romney, Pres. Obama didn't win Hispanic vote b/c he offered "gifts". Obama won b/c u offered NOTHING. Hispanics work hard for their $.
Is there anybody that Romney will not piss off?
Update:Gov. Bobby Jindal comes out against Romney's "gifts" statement.
“I don’t think that represents where we are as a party and where we’re going as a party," Jindal continued. “That has got to be one of the most fundamental takeaways from this election: If we’re going to continue to be a competitive party and win elections on the national stage and continue to fight for our conservative principles, we need two messages to get out loudly and clearly: One, we are fighting for 100 percent of the votes, and secondly, our policies benefit every American who wants to pursue the American dream. Period. No exceptions."
Republicans are free from having to defend the buffoonish Romney. They can publicly kick his ass to their heart's content. I can't say I blame their anger. Romney really was that bad of a candidate and he is still damaging the Republican brand after the election.
Word is Bobby Jindal is set to endorse Rick Perry for president. I can't think of better person to endorse Perry than Jindal.
Perry may be one of the few people who actually think abstinence sex education actually works. Jindal goes one step further than Perry with his Christian Right views. Jindal wrote in the New Oxford Review that he performed an exorcism.
Perry has repeatedly attacked President Obama's stimulus. That did not stop Perry from using stimulus money to balance the Texas budget. Jindal has begged for federal funding to deal with the Katrina and BP spill disasters. During his response to President Obama's first State of the Union, Jindal said that the federal government should not get involved in disaster relief. Never mind the people that were drowning during Katrina. Jindal makes Perry appear centrist. Wow.
Thank goodness Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal had the good sense to sign HB 1272 into law. Jindal knows that the best way for conservatives to worship Jesus is to bring their guns to church.
To amend and reenact R.S. 40:1379.3(H)(2) and (N)(8) and to enact R.S. 40:1379.3(D)(3) and (U), relative to concealed handgun permits; to increase the period of time in which a concealed handgun permit is valid; to provide with respect to costs and fees; to provide with respect to the adoption of rules for certain permits and fees; to authorize the use of fixed-case marking projectiles for handgun competency training; to authorize certain religious organizations to allow concealed handguns to be carried in places of worship pursuant to a valid concealed handgun permit; to provide for exceptions; and to provide for related matters.
The bill was written by Rep. Henry Burns. Apparently, Burns thinks churches are crime ridden places that need citizens carrying guns. The last crime in a church that comes to my mind is Scott Roeder murdering abortion provider Dr. Tiller with a gun. The bill makes an exemption for religious institutions near schools. It seems even Burns doesn't want random citizens carrying guns around children.
Gov. Bobby Jindal toured the ravaged marshlands of the Louisiana coast. On Flickr, there is a series of pictures of the devastation. The pictures were released by Gov. Bobby Jindal's office. Despite my previous problems with Jindal, I'm glad he let the public see the ecological damage caused by the spill.
"The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume."
The Associated Press reports the oil spill has reached the mouth of Mississippi River. The shoreline of hit with five foot waves of watery oil. The damage to the ecosystem is unimaginable.
Irony alert: Gov. Bobby Jindal is asking for the federal government to declare a state of emergency for Louisiana. Remember Jindal's hysterical State of the Union response? Jindal used the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina to forward the concept that the best way to deal with disasters was not with federal government aid. Private citizens should deal with disasters themselves.
There is a lesson in this experience: The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and the enterprising spirit of our citizens. We are grateful for the support we have received from across the nation for the ongoing recovery efforts. This spirit got Louisiana through the hurricanes and this spirit will get our nation through the storms we face today.
Gov. Jindal, why don't you ask Louisianans to clean up the damage to Louisiana's coast. Who needs pesky big government telling you how to clean the biggest oil spill since the Exxon Valdez? Tell citizens to use their entrepreneur spirit. Governor, it is just a shame you are not in Congress to sponsor another bill for more offshore drilling. I know you were disappointed when Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act didn't pass.
(1) the United States is blessed with abundant energy resources on the outer Continental Shelf and has developed a comprehensive framework of environmental laws and regulations and fostered the development of state-of-the-art technology that allows for the responsible development of these resources for the benefit of its citizenry;
(2) adjacent States are required by the circumstances to commit significant resources in support of exploration, development, and production activities for mineral resources on the outer Continental Shelf, and it is fair and proper for a portion of the receipts from such activities to be shared with Adjacent States and their local coastal governments;
(3) the existing laws governing the leasing and production of the mineral resources of the outer Continental Shelf have reduced the production of mineral resources, have preempted Adjacent States from being sufficiently involved in the decisions regarding the allowance of mineral resource development, and have been harmful to the national interest;
(4) the national interest is served by granting the Adjacent States more options related to whether or not mineral leasing should occur in the outer Continental Shelf within their Adjacent Zones;
(5) it is not reasonably foreseeable that exploration of a leased tract located more than 25 miles seaward of the coastline, development and production of a natural gas discovery located more than 25 miles seaward of the coastline, or development and production of an oil discovery located more than 50 miles seaward of the coastline will adversely affect resources near the coastline;
(6) transportation of oil from a leased tract might reasonably be foreseen, under limited circumstances, to have the potential to adversely affect resources near the coastline if the oil is within 50 miles of the coastline, but such potential to adversely affect such resources is likely no greater, and probably less, than the potential impacts from tanker transportation because tanker spills usually involve large releases of oil over a brief period of time; and
(7) among other bodies of inland waters, the Great Lakes, Long Island Sound, Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, Albemarle Sound, San Francisco Bay, and Puget Sound are not part of the outer Continental Shelf, and are not subject to leasing by the Federal Government for the exploration, development, and production of any mineral resources that might lie beneath them.
Keep voting voting Republican Louisiana. See where it gets you.
The link reveals this image of polls showing support for the public option.
The House version of health care reform is what voters support. Which makes me wonder what planet Gov. Bobby Jindal is on?
JINDAL: Absolutely. Well, let`s start first of all -- Neil, across this country, I think the debate`s over. I think the American people have spoken loudly. they have said they don`t want a government- run plan that increases their taxes, that increases government spending.
Jindal willfilly deceives Fox News viewers about poll numbers and the cost of a public option insurance program. A Congressional Budget Report found the public option would save $110 billion over ten year. Jindal is not truly fiscally conservative. Jindal made an outlandish claim about tort reform savings.
Third, if we`re serious about driving down the cost of health care, let`s address the cost of defensive medicine. Frivolous lawsuits, one study says, could cost as much as $100 billion a year. I think it`s telling neither of these plans really have significant reforms.
A CBO report found tort reform would only provide 0.5 percent savings to health care. A 2004 CBO report gave a more generous 2 percent savings. The problem with Jindal's logic is there is no trigger to force insuers to lower premiums on doctors, if tort reform passes. The medical profession and insurers may get savings. That does not mean those savings will be passed on to patients.
Republicans need to get Michael Steele's and Bobby Jindal's "off-the-hook" message more television time. Bristol Palin is helping spread the social conservative message that abstinence-only sex education is the only solution. If we learned anything, is that teenagers will always obey adults when told not to have sex.
What makes the Republican Party stronger than Democrats is when Republicans point out the political shortcomings of their 2012 presidential candidates.
"Remember, it was the base that rejected Mitt because of his switch on pro-life, from pro-choice to pro-life," Steele told the caller. "It was the base that rejected Mitt because it had issues with Mormonism. It was the base that rejected Mitt because they thought he was back and forth and waffling on those very economic issues you're talking about."
"So, I mean, I hear what you're saying, but before we even got to a primary vote, the base had made very clear they had issues with Mitt because if they didn't, he would have defeated John McCain in those primaries in which he lost," Steele concluded.
"Chairman Steele regrets the way his comments have been interpreted," Republican National Committee spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said in a statement.
"Chairman Steele believes Mitt Romney is a respected and influential voice in the Republican Party and looks to his leadership and ideas to help move our party and our nation in the right direction."
Scientific theories can be tested to be proven or disproven. Religious and philosophical theories can not be proven in laboratory settings. Republican Bobby Jindal understands the best way to educate children and keep America a competitive industrial nation is to promote intelligent design as science. It matters not how many scientific organizations have rejected intelligent design as a science.
Republicans continue to comprehend that their support for Dick Cheney and torture policies will help the future of the party. Cheney's soaring 13 percent approval rating and people skills. It is common knowledge it is more productive to defend a no-longer-serving Vice-President of potential criminal offensives than to make attempts at crafting policy. It is better to be the Party Playing Political Defense than the Party of Ideas.
"Make no mistake: Anything other than an immediate and compliant, 'Why no sir, I don't want the president to fail,' is treated as some sort of act of treason, civil disobedience or political obstructionism," Jindal said at a political fundraiser attended by 1,200 people. "This is political correctness run amok."
"My answer to the question is very simple: 'Do you want the president to fail?' It depends on what he is trying to do."
Megan McArdle wrote a follow up post to her original Jindalmania piece. Both posts were originally writen last year.
But once you're past that, well, the guy just has skills. His message, like Obama's, is one of hope and actual change; he tends to emphasize the work he's done reforming Louisiana's notoriously corrupt political culture. And like Obama, he has the charisma to put it over. Nearly all prominent politicians are extremely charismatic. Being in a room with them is like being in a room with the sun; you can't really look anywhere else. But some have it more than others, and Jindal has a lot of it.
He's also a really good political organizer, which is how a Republican carries Louisiana (to be sure, the Democratic governor's monstrously incompetent performance during Hurricane Katrina helped quite a bit.) And on the other metrics by which Obama stands out--his academic chops, his meteoric rise--Jindal actually betters Obama. The guy was accepted to both Harvard Medical School and Yale Law School, but decided to go for a political career, and accepted his Rhodes Scholarship instead. At 25 he was appointed Lousiana's Secretary of Health and Hospitals; at 28, he became the youngest-ever president of the University of Louisiana system.
McArdle comparing Jindal's political skills to Barack Obama's takes nerve. Unpopular incumbant Kathleen Blanco did not seek re-election, in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Jindal ran in a nonpartisan blanket primary against eleven opponents. Only two were Democrats. Walter Boasso and Foster Campbell did not hold a Congressional seat or previously run for Governor. Jindal has. Boasso switched from a Republican to Democrat because the Republican Party of Louisiana endorsed Jindal. Short answer: Jindal had an easy race after Blanco dropped out. Jindal won David Vitter's Congressional seat. The seat has been red since 1977.
Another fun fact: George W. Bush won Louisiana in 2000 and 2004. Jindal ran in 2003. Louisiana had a serving Republican Governor in Murphy J. Foster, Jr.. Blanco beat Jindal in 2003 52 percent to 48 percent. John McCain beat Obama in Louisiana by 58.6 percent to 39.9 percent.
Barack Obama raised a record 750 million for his presidential campaign. Obama beat Democratic superstar Hillary Clinton and former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards in the primary. Obama beat Republican media darling John McCain in the general election. McCain could have been elected president in 2000, if not for the smear campaign waged during the South Carolina primary.
How MrArdle can compare Obama's political savvy with Jindal's is beyond me? Jindal's Republican support is soft. Louisiana is not representative of the United States electorate. There is no evidence Jindal can raise cash or harness the power of the internet the way Obama did. I have already written about the highly negative reviews of Jindal's SOTU response. I get the feeling McArdle knows her "puppy love" crush bombed. There isn't a single post in McArdle's February 2009 archives about Bobby Jindal. The thing about puppy love crushes is they don't tend to last very long.
Personally, I have no respect for a blogger that would let FEMA off-the-hook for the Katrina response.
One interesting thing I learned is just how far Jindal has come in fighting Louisiana's institutional problems. Bush detractors get mad when I say this, but it really is true that the total ineptitude of the state and local governments was a major reason that things went so tragically wrong during Katrina. FEMA is a small agency with a few thousand employees; it is a funding mechanism for recovery efforts, not some sort of Super EMT Squad. FEMA does well in states that have competent and responsive government agencies, and not so well in places that don't. (The staggering incompetence of rebuilding efforts is another rant--but also, a symptom of broader government problems rather than necessarily something specific to FEMA. But then as I say, that's another rant.)
Blanco's response was inexcusable. Is McArdle aware the New Orleans levees are a federal project under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? In Augest 2008, the Bush administration did not finish repairing the levees.
In the Youtube video below: Homeland Security Director makes the insane argument he based his Katrina response on newspaper headlines. I feel better if the Chertoff knew more about disasters then the media.
Chertoff: "I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees" -- was based on news reports from the morning after the storm indicating that New Orleans had "dodged a bullet."
The newspaper headlines from August 29th, 2005 reported Katrina badly damaging New Orleans. The Grenada, Mississippi Daily Star is the only newspaper to use the phrase "dodged a bullet." Is this where the Bush administration gets all it's news?
Reactions to Bobby Jindal's State of the Union Response
Bobby Jindal gave the worst State of the Union response in recent memory. Jindal's wooden response. Jindal used hurricane Katrina as a reason the government should not get involved in emergency management. Has Jindal remember Michael Brown's and Michael Chertoff's role in Katrina? Jindal is disingenuous about Obama's stimulus bill. As a member of Congress, Jindal voted against moving FEMA out of the Department of Homeland Security.
To solve our current problems, Washington must lead. But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and not to just put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians. The way to lead is by empowering you, the American people. Because we believe that Americans can do anything.
A "making work pay" refundable tax credit championed by Obama of up to $400 per individual and $800 for couples in 2009 and 2010. It is calculated at a rate of 6.2 percent of earned income and is phased out for individuals with adjusted incomes over $75,000 and couples with incomes over $150,000.
* A one-time payment of $250 to Social Security beneficiaries, railroad retirees and veterans receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. State government retirees not eligible for Social Security would also get the $250 payment.
* Increases the earned income tax credit for low-income workers with three or more children.
* Increases eligibility for the refundable child tax credit to more low-income workers. The bill reduces the income floor to $3,000 in 2009 and 2010 from the current floor of $8,500.
* A new $2,500 tax credit for college education expenses. The credit phases out for individuals earning more than $80,000 and couples with incomes over $160,000.
An $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers for homes purchased between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2009. The tax credit phases out for individuals earning more than $75,000 and couples earning more than $150,000.
* Temporary relief from the alternative minimum tax for millions of middle-class taxpayers who otherwise would be ensnared by the tax originally meant for the very wealthy.
FOR BUSINESSES
* Small businesses with gross receipts of up to $15 million can write off 2008 losses against five previous tax years. Current laws allows a two-year carryback of losses.
Businesses will also be allowed to immediately write off more of their investments in computers and other equipment.
* Businesses that repurchase debt at a lower amount than when it was issued will be able to defer taxes on it. Usually reduced or canceled debt is treated as income and taxed. The break applies to debt repurchased adjusted after Dec. 31, 2008, and before Jan. 1, 2011.
* A tax break on capital gains from the sale of stock held in a small business for more than five years.
* The bill raises about $7 billion in revenues by repealing a Treasury Department decision last year to liberalize rules that were intended to prevent companies in a merger from taking huge tax breaks on losses of firms they were acquiring.
Jindal invokes 9-11. That didn't work for Rudy Giuliani. Jindal spoke about cleaning up corruption. He took money from Tom Delay, Roy Blunt, Jerry Lewis, and clints of Jack Abramoff. How can anyone whom took money from indicted men and is married to a lobbyist be a role model for anti-corruption.
The media reactions to Jindal's performance are hysterical. Rachel Maddow is literally speechless.
Conservative columnist David Brooks praised Obama's speech and panned Jindal's rhetoric.
Brooks called Jindal's reponse the worst ever by a Republican. Ouch.
Of course, I'm just in that first flush of puppy love, when a journalist meets a handsome young politician who just might be The One. Soon enough, I'll undoubtedly find things about him to hate. But frankly, it's rare enough to meet one I like. True love may have to wait.
I'm speechless. I wonder if Tas or Litbrit have a response to McArdle. This is too good to pass up.
"Does the governor have a volcano in his backyard?" Royce Pollard, the mayor of Vancouver, Washington, said on Wednesday. "We have one that's very active, and it still rumbles and spits and coughs very frequently."
Jindal singled out a $140 million appropriation for the U.S. Geological Survey as an example of questionable government spending during the GOP response to President Barack Obama's address to Congress Tuesday night.
The governor, a rising Republican star, questioned why "something called 'volcano monitoring' " was included in the nearly $800 billion economic stimulus bill Obama signed earlier this month.
Perhaps Jindal should find out before mentioning volcano monitoring in his speech.
Update: Fox News pans Jindal's speech.
Update:Paul Krugman perfectly mocks the stupidity of Jindal's speech.
And leaving aside the chutzpah of casting the failure of his own party’s governance as proof that government can’t work, does he really think that the response to natural disasters like Katrina is best undertaken by uncoordinated private action? Hey, why bother having an army? Let’s just rely on self-defense by armed citizens.
The intellectual incoherence is stunning. Basically, the political philosophy of the GOP right now seems to consist of snickering at stuff that they think sounds funny. The party of ideas has become the party of Beavis and Butthead.
Poll Results On Charlie Crist's Presidential Prospects
A CNN poll found that Charlie Crist is at he bottom of names mentioned for potential Republican presidential in 2012. The factors may extend to national name recognition. Sarah Palin tops the list at 45 percent. Palin's star power was bigger than John McCain's during the campaign. The Republican Party will lose if Palin becomes the nominee.
The candidate that could cause Barack Obama problems is Mike Huckabee. The Huck has a bestselling book and is good on the stump. The GOP is high on Bobby Jindal. However, Jindal faces the same problem as Crist; most people haven't heard of him. Bloggers and pundits don't count as the "the people." Howard Dean would have been the 2004 nominee if internet buzz and magazine covers were the deciding factor. Although, the political landscape could change in Jindal's and Crist's favor.
Ryan Goellner wrote how Obama's commitment to competence over political ideology appeals to voters. Obama backed his words by retaining Robert Gates. Jindal's commitment to "covenant marriages, outlawing abortions--no exceptions--creationism, and banning stem-cell research from the public sector" will not convince voters of his bipartisanship.
What is most notable is Gingrich's weak support. Gingrich has national name recognition and years in the political arena. People know Gingrich and they associate him the 1995 shutdown of the federal government.
Giuliani: ran worst campaign of a frontrunner in recent memory. Enough said.
Somewhat Likely Support From GOP Voters.
Mitt Romney can raise money and looks the part. He failed to connect with Republican voters. I'm far from convinced he could beat Obama in a general election. Obama is lights years ahead of Romney as a fundraiser and speaker. Romney is better suited as a CEO.
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